


Letting Go

by Alypaint



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Angst, M/M, This is so angsty, im sorry holy shit, makeup smut, maybe fluff later, probably smut later too
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-05
Updated: 2018-08-24
Packaged: 2019-06-22 09:07:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15578478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alypaint/pseuds/Alypaint
Summary: “If you love someone, let them go. If they come back they’re yours, if they don’t then they never were.”Levi is ready to move on but Eren is not.





	1. A Thousand Years

They’d had this conversation plenty of times before. It always ended in Levi being angry at Eren for something he couldn’t control. The thing is, they love each other. Eren’s mom died a little bit over a year ago and Levi was there everyday to comfort Eren as long as he needed it. But now, Levi was ready to leave. He was ready to move into the next stage of his life and wanted, more than anything, to do it with Eren. 

But Eren wasn’t ready just yet. He told Levi the same thing time and time again, “I’m just not ready yet.”

“When WILL you be? I want everything with you why don’t you want that too?”

Eren sighed and hugged himself as he sat on their kitchen counter, “Of course I want that, Levi. I love you so much; more than anybody, anything. I’m just not ready.”

Levi groaned and looked at Eren, pain evident in his eyes, “But I AM.” 

Eren gave Levi a small, teary-eyed smile. This would be the first time this conversation ended differently in months. Eren bit his lip before whispering, barely audible, “Then go.”

Levi felt so many emotions in that second. Anger, pain, sadness. He walked up and grabbed Eren by his biceps, “What?”

Eren pressed their foreheads together, “I love you so much,” he spoke through his tears, “but I can’t stand to hold you back. You’re so strong, and handsome, and smart. I won’t be the person that stops you from being great. So go, please. I’ll be here if you still want me when you’re done. I’ll always be here for you.” 

Levi cradled Eren’s face in his hands, “I love you. So damn much.” 

“It’s ok. I’ll be ok.”

*~* 

It had been two years since Levi had packed his bags and left; two years for Eren to be ready. And ready he was. He was ready to leave now and start the next chapter of his life. But he found that he couldn’t leave, that he couldn’t pack up and go because he was waiting. 

He was waiting for Levi to come back. This is where he’d look for Eren when- if he came. So Eren stayed. 

*~* 

Three and a half years had passed since Levi left. Eren considered moving several times and looked at different job offers and tried to move on. He was ready to move on but he couldn’t. He couldn’t leave because Levi never came back. Tears racked his body as he thought about Levi and the life he was probably having. The memories he was making and the love he was sharing and the time that he wasn’t using to think about Eren. 

*~*

Levi was at a bar, caught up in a rare moment where he wasn’t thinking about Eren. He was nursing a whiskey on the rocks across the table from his work friends. Although, at this point, they had developed into more of his friend-friends. Alright so they were his best friends but he didn’t have many to begin with. It was nice watching them banter and poke fun at one another. 

Levi tuned into what Hanji was saying. She was a loud person with high cheek bones and messy brown hair. She wore glasses and a smile for almost every occasion, “You love him! It’s so obvious you totally do, don’t try to deny it!”

Erwin, a tall, bushy-browed man, chuckled at Hanji’s prying, “For once in our lives I do not disagree with you.” 

Hanji squealed at the confession before looking over at Levi, “How about you, Levi? Have you ever been in love?”

Levi’s mind went straight to Eren. Beautiful, vibrant, lovely Eren. The way he used to smile when Levi tickled him and the way he would pout when Levi would kick him out of the kitchen. The way he cried when Levi packed up everything and left. 

To his friends concern, Levi’s face went completely blank, “Yes.” Levi grabbed his jacket and excused himself before driving home in a trance. He didn’t remember getting into his apartment but he was there. Alone. 

*~* 

Levi toyed with the idea of going back to the small town where he met Eren. Back to their apartment where he left Eren almost four years ago. But the likelihood that Eren would still be there was slim; it had been three and a half years after all. 

But he was wrong to think he could resist going anyway. It was like driving through a distant memory, detached and surreal. As Levi pulled up to his old apartment building, his hands shook. All he could do was hope that after all this time, Eren stayed. It contradicted everything he ever wanted for the man, but he hoped Eren stayed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi makes a decision.

Levi parked his car in a guest spot and stared at his steering wheel. Was he really going to do this? Could he do this? After a mental debate where he decided he had already made his way over and he should at least try the door, Levi took the keys out of the ignition and opened the car door. He took a deep breath before he locked the car and headed towards the stairs entrance; the elevator gave him too much time to think on the way up. 

Levi flinched at the deafening slap of his shoes on each step as he made his way up to the third floor. As he exited the staircase he turned left and made his way all the way to the end of the hall. There was a new mat in front of the door but the curtains in the window were the same. Levi hesitated as he stood in front of the door. He fought an internal war as he traced the knocker directly below the peephole.

He had left Eren. He left him and moved on with his life but his heart never moved on. He longed for Eren in everything he did; in the air he breathed. 

Having made his choice, Levi lightly gripped the knocker and crisply hit it against the door twice. 

*~* 

Eren tossed his blanket to the side as he got up to answer the door. He didn’t get many visitors but he did have a neighbor who asked him for sugar or butter every once in a while. It was around dinner time so Eren thought it seemed likely. He wrapped his sweater clad arms around himself as he padded his socked feet to his door. 

He ran his hand through his hair as he unlocked and opened the door. Catching sight of the visitor, Eren gasped and clutched the door frame for support. It was Levi. It was Levi and he was standing at Eren’s door in a button down and a pair of slacks. He was wearing loafers; they were black. 

Eren felt dizzy as he reached out to touch Levi; he had to make sure the man was real. The tips of his fingers glided against the man’s shirt and the chest beneath gave way to the pressure of Eren’s finger tips. 

Levi sighed as Eren’s hand rested solidly against his chest. It felt like coming home, “Eren.” 

Eren fisted his hand in Levi’s shirt, “Levi.” 

Eren sobbed as he threw himself at his everything; his world. They stood at their old door, hugging, for what felt like eternity yet never quite enough. 

Eren framed Levi’s face with his hands, “You came back.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This can definitely end here but I’d like to add smut. So I made it complete because it is but I can always make it 3 chapters later. I just have no clue how that would go. Please point out mistakes no matter how small c: Even if it’s just poor sentence structure.

**Author's Note:**

> PLEASE lmk if there are mistakes or sentences that don’t flow well n all that jazz c:
> 
> I take suggestions to heart please feel free to leave suggestions for the next chapter in the comments <3


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